Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever has been under 24/7 police protection since last week, various local media report.
Police and justice officials fear that drug criminals are planning an attack on De Wever. As a result, he’s under close protection for the second time.
“The regime is even stricter than last time, when I was threatened by extremists,” De Wever said, adding that “it is what it is.”
The previous time, it followed the dismantling of a terror cell in Verviers (in the province of Liège).
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The security comes in the wake of the interception of messages exchanged between criminals on the encrypted software Sky ECC, which led to dozens of arrests and the seizure of 17 tonnes of cocaine and €1.2 million, among other things.
After the Sky operation, De Wever called for a scale-up in the war on drugs and said on television that “billionaires” heading the drug organisations would be tackled by the police and justice officials.
The news of a threat against De Wever reportedly came a few days after he made these statements.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
